📍 Breakdown: 26 Cities with Major Juneteenth Celebrations

Southeast:

• Atlanta, GA – Huge parade, live music, family zone

• Memphis, TN – Festival on the Mississippi + fireworks

• Orlando, FL – Juneteenth 5K & educational symposiums

• Charlotte, NC – Vendor village + youth storytelling

• New Orleans, LA – Food, music, culture by the bayou

Northeast:

• Philadelphia, PA – Historic AAMP exhibits & gospel showcase

• Baltimore, MD – Spoken word, storytelling & street festival

• New York, NY – Broadway block party + family market

Midwest:

• Chicago, IL – Annual Juneteenth Parade & picnic

• Detroit, MI – Wellness walks, cultural talks, food trucks

• Cleveland, OH – Outdoor movie night + music

• St. Louis, MO – Educational workshops + parade

South:

• Houston, TX – Celebrating at historic Emancipation Park

• Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum block party & poetry

• Birmingham, AL – Health & wealth expos

• Jackson, MS – Family freedom fest + Black-owned vendors

• Louisville, KY – Parade + Black Wall Street event

West Coast & Beyond:

• Los Angeles, CA – Grand Park celebration, Black culture exhibits

• Oakland, CA – Freedom Festival & economic empowerment fair

• San Francisco, CA – Parade across Fillmore

• Denver, CO – Street fair, live jazz, unity march

• Seattle, WA – Community rally & soul food

• Phoenix, AZ – HBCU alumni cookout & music

• Minneapolis, MN – Youth dance & spoken word

• Columbus, OH – Citywide Juneteenth march

🎓 HBCUs at the Center

Many of these celebrations include HBCU marching bands, alumni chapters, student orgs, and vendor booths. From performances to education panels, HBCUs continue to be pillars in preserving the legacy of Juneteenth.

🔗 Join the Movement

📷 Tag @THEHBCUORIGINAL
🏷️ Hashtags: #HBCUJuneteenth #Juneteenth2025 #BlackFreedom

Juneteenth—short for June Nineteenth—is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with federal troops and issued General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people were free.

For the estimated 250,000 Black people still enslaved in Texas, this was the first time they were told of their freedom. While freedom had been the law since January 1, 1863, it wasn’t enforced in remote Confederate states like Texas until Union troops physically arrived.

But Juneteenth is more than a date.
It’s a spiritual and cultural milestone. It represents:

• Delayed justice, but not denied dignity.

• A collective awakening to freedom.

• The beginning of a new fight—for land, civil rights, and equity.

• The power of Black resilience, community, and culture.

Since its origin, Juneteenth has evolved from small family cookouts and church gatherings into nationwide celebrations filled with festivals, education, music, and activism. In 2021, it was officially recognized as a federal holiday, a testament to generations of Black voices demanding that America remember and respect this part of its history.

Juneteenth and Slavery in Texas
In Texas, slavery had continued as the state experienced no large-scale fighting or significant presence of Union troops. Many enslavers from outside the Lone Star State had moved there, as they viewed it as a safe haven for slavery.

After the war came to a close in the spring of 1865, General Granger’s arrival in Galveston that June signaled freedom for Texas’s 250,000 enslaved people. Although emancipation didn’t happen overnight for everyone—in some cases, enslavers withheld the information until after harvest season—celebrations broke out among newly freed Black people, and Juneteenth was born. That December, slavery in America was formally abolished with the adoption of the 13th Amendment.

The year following 1865, freedmen in Texas organized the first of what became the annual celebration of “Jubilee Day” on June 19. In the ensuing decades, Juneteenth commemorations featured music, barbecues, prayer services and other activities, and as Black people migrated from Texas to other parts of the country the Juneteenth tradition spread.

June 10, 2025 | Eugene, Oregon

Florida A&M’s standout middle-distance runner, Kirk Dawkins, is headed to the big stage as he prepares to compete in the 800-meter semifinals at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships this Wednesday. The race will take place at 8:58 p.m. EST at the legendary Hayward Field, located on the campus of the University of Oregon.

Catch the action live on ESPN.

Dawkins earned his spot at nationals by running a personal-best time of 1:46.62 at the NCAA East Regional quarterfinals—an impressive mark that solidifies his status among the elite in collegiate track.

This season has been a breakout year for the FAMU junior. He claimed the SWAC Outdoor Championship title in the 800 meters with a time of 1:50.2 and followed that up with a strong 1:48.01 showing at the East Coast Relays. His steady improvement and commitment to excellence are paying off as he heads into the national spotlight.

All eyes will be on Dawkins Wednesday night as he looks to continue his historic season and represent Florida A&M on the national stage.

For over a century, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been more than institutions of higher learning—they’ve been beacons of opportunity, cultural pride, and athletic excellence, often doing more with far less than their Power Five counterparts. But now, in the wake of the historic NCAA settlement approved on June 6, 2025, a new era of college sports is taking shape. And for HBCUs, this moment presents a mixture of promise, peril, and the pressing need to reimagine their role in the evolving landscape of college athletics.

The Fork in the Road

At the heart of the NCAA settlement is the move toward direct revenue sharing with student-athletes, fundamentally changing how college athletes are compensated. Power Five schools—those with multimillion-dollar TV deals and donor pipelines—are preparing to spend upwards of $20 million annually on athlete compensation, either through direct NIL payments or expanded scholarships.

For HBCUs, many of which operate with significantly smaller budgets, the question is clear: Can they keep up, or will this widen the financial and competitive gap?

An Uneven Playing Field Gets Steeper

HBCUs have always had to be innovative. With fewer resources, they’ve relied on community support, passionate alumni, and strong cultural identities to build athletic programs that punch above their weight. However, the new system isn’t just about innovation—it’s about access to capital. When athletes begin to consider direct pay and robust NIL deals as part of their decision-making process, HBCUs risk being left out of the conversation unless they find new funding pathways.

It’s not a level playing field when Alabama can offer a $20M NIL pool, while a program like Mississippi Valley State struggles to maintain facilities or fund recruiting trips.

But There’s Power in Legacy

Still, HBCUs have something many larger schools don’t: authenticity and legacy. In recent years, there’s been a cultural shift with high-profile athletes like Travis Hunter choosing HBCUs, and celebrities such as Deion Sanders putting the spotlight on Black college football. This settlement may, ironically, drive more attention to schools that offer not just a paycheck, but a purpose.

If HBCUs can position themselves as places where athletes can build their brand, stand for something, and grow into complete individuals, they may still attract elite talent looking for more than money.

Strategic Moves Ahead

To remain competitive, HBCUs will need to:

• Build sustainable NIL programs through alumni networks, Black-owned businesses, and innovative branding.

• Leverage cultural capital and media platforms (like HBCU Original and The CW’s HBCU sports broadcasts) to highlight athlete stories.

• Lobby for fair treatment in how roster limits and NIL audits are applied, ensuring they aren’t unfairly penalized for structural disparities.

• Collaborate across conferences like MEAC, SWAC, CIAA, and SIAC to create a unified front and share best practices.

What’s at Stake

This is not just about money. It’s about equity, survival, and legacy. If HBCUs are forced to the sidelines in this new model, it would be a tragic loss not only for Black athletes but for college sports as a whole.

Yet if HBCUs can seize this moment—restructure smartly, fundraise boldly, and tell their stories louder than ever—they can help shape the future of college athletics from a position of strength, not scarcity.

This is the most transformative chapter in NCAA history.

HBCUs must write themselves into it.

Suggested Title for YouTube or Podcast:
“HBCUs at a Crossroads: What the NCAA Settlement Means for Black College Sports”

Suggested Tags:
NCAA settlement, HBCUs, NIL deals, college sports, athlete compensation, MEAC, SWAC, CIAA, SIAC, college football, Black colleges, Deion Sanders, NCAA transformation, NIL Go, Title IX, HBCU athletics

Suggested Description:
The NCAA just approved a historic $2.8 billion settlement, opening the door for schools to pay college athletes directly. But what does this mean for HBCUs? In this breakdown, we explore the opportunities, risks, and future of Black college sports in a new era of revenue sharing and NIL deals. Can HBCUs compete? Or will this widen the gap in college athletics even more? Let’s talk legacy, money, and the path forward.